Actors must lead a tough life: not only does the trade deny them the luxury of a steady income, but the challenge of constantly changing roles can throw their own identity out of shape. Or so one English actor (Kenneth More) discovers as he sinks to success in this caustic but witty comedy drama, in which the extroverted façade of the dedicated thespian stands revealed for what it really is: a protective shield against the burden of inconsistent work, the humiliation of endless auditions, and the hunger for popular acclaim. More's luck begins to turn after professional desperation and a need for quick cash lead him to accept a job in the lucrative but disreputable world of television advertising. Nothing, he soon learns, corrupts like fame and fortune, especially when neither is earned (it's easier to be morally pure when you're a starving artist). The film was made in 1963, but is so rarely revived that it qualifies as a lost treasure of sorts.
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mjneu5912 November 2010
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For about ten years hypocrisy ran through the veins of British Showbiz. Among the best - known whose careers foundered were Macdonald Hobley,the first thinking woman's crumpet TV personality,Max Wall,one of our greatest - ever comedians and Kenneth More,an actor who had,more than any other,come to symbolise all that was decent and fair in the British psyche.All these men were ostracised for committing adultery,an event so commonplace by the end of the sixties that it was hardly worthy of comment,let alone disapproval. Fortunately for Mr More he had a very strong fan base who remained loyal and non - judgemental,and he was able to tough it out to the extent that in 1964 he starred in "The Comedy Man" along with Miss Angela Douglas,his partner - in - adultery;a slap in the face for his detractors and a welcome back into the fold for an actor who even today is remembered with great fondness by many of us old enough to qualify for the government's "Winter Warming" allowance. It was made at a time when the film industry considered itself at war with Television - the upstart entertainment medium that required no more effort from its audience than pushing a switch.Much as "the theatre" had thought movies to be inferior 40 years earlier,so the movies now looked down on TV and lost no opportunity to belittle it. This attitude might have been all right for the theatrical aristocracy but was always going to cause problems for the jobbing actor like Chick Byrd (Mr K.More)recently sacked from a Rep for sexual misconduct. He has "Principles" - professional ones at least - and holds out against TV's filthy lucre until he is down on his uppers and accepts a part in a commercial that unaccountably becomes very popular,making him a "success de cash" that causes him a certain amount of schadenfreunde. He lives in a seedy flat with a former colleague recently returned from Hollywood and no better for it(Mr E.Purdom in a role surely "hommaged" from Robert Maine in Robert Morley's "Goodness,how sad"). Mr Cecil Parker is nothing short of marvellous(as usual) as an old - school "Actor" and Dennis Price as Byrd's agent may well have taken George Sanders' in "All about Eve" as a role model. In the end Mr More reclaims his soul for the theatre and TV's villain is reduced to slinking away,face behind it's cloak,cursing. Only a man with the breezy innocence and basic good nature of More's screen image could have made it convincing. Now,with TV and the movies in each other's pocket it's hard to believe that once their rivalry was so deadly. "The Comedy Man" is a spot - on portrait of it's time,the movies tightening their belts,television's great gravy train slowly starting to move off,the "talent",mere grist to the mills of both.
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howardmorley5 October 2012The first thing the trader said, who sold me this rare DVD was, "It's not a comedy".No it's not, only in an ironic bittersweet way.The second thing I noticed was that Edmund Purdom (who played second officer Lightoller in "Titanic" 1953 and More (who played the same role in "A Night to Remember" (1958) are playing thespian friends.They share a grotty, run down flat somewhere in London while they struggle to find acting work.I was rather surprised to note "The Comedy Man" is dated 1964 as this seems quite recent considering both actors shone in the mid-fifties and I mentally dated it 1953 while I watched it but realised it must be in reality more recent when a mid-sixties Roller drove up to their lodgings.
Those like me who make a note of jobbing actors will note a whole plethora of well known faces in the British film industry in this film.Notable were Billy Whitelaw as Chick Byrd's true love Judy.Norman Rossington (a steward in "A Night to Remember) as Theodore Littleton who act as an unofficial pawnbroker in the lodgings, Dennis Price playing a seedy theatrical agent Tommy Morris, and Cecil Parker playing an old "ham" Thomas Rutherford.I believe Kenneth More married Angela Douglas who plays Fay Trubshaw.An old girlfriend in my youth said I reminded her of Edmund Purdom in my facial looks, (he certainly was a handsome devil)!
Other reviewers have explained the plot and I too won't provide a spoiler for its denouement in the final scene.It certainly shows that acting is not for the faint-hearted, it's a bit like trying to make a living out of art.Only the very talented, dedicated and lucky usually manage to make a successful career in these professions, instead of doing "a proper job".I was surprised I had not seen this film before and was pleasantly surprised by it's authentic "feel".I rated it 7/10. -
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre25 February 2002"The Comedy Man" is a drama (with some comedy) about a struggling actor named Chick Byrd in swinging London. This is one of the most accurate depictions of the grotty underside of showbiz. The film is very realistic, sometimes depressingly so. Byrd dreams of stardom, but he lives in a cheap bedsit and collects dole cheques. He can't get a "real" job because he's always making the rounds of casting calls. Byrd is played by Kenneth More, a dramatic actor with comedy experience, who gives an excellent performance here. Billie Whitelaw is excellent too. I won't divulge the movie's ending, except to say that it's unexpected yet very plausible. Watch for a very large man in a very small role: the gigantic union steward wearing a Red Indian war bonnet is played by Freddie Mills. He was Britain's heavyweight champion who tried to parlay his boxing fame into an acting career, but his large size typecast him in Richard Kiel-type roles. I recommend this film.
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malcolmgsw11 September 2019Moore's career was in the doldrums when he made this film,his first for two years.He was in a relationship with Angela Douglas,whom he called Shrimp as in this film This film seems to give an accurate idea of the desperation of actors without work.
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TondaCoolwal16 July 2019Not so much a story, more of an amble through the life of a unemployed actor; of which species many are featured in this rather sour movie. Eschewing his usual bright and breezy demeanour More plays a provincial, journeyman actor who in middle age returns to London in the hope of finally making it big. We are then treated to a portrayal of the ups and downs, mainly downs, of life as a thesp. Endless auditions, lascivious agents, grotty digs, failed relationships and the gradual realisation that actors are a self-centred bunch who, in reality care little for one another, in an uncaring profession. More, as Charles 'Chick' Byrd is something of a snob, sneering at television work whilst looking for his defining role. Tauntingly, his flatmate Julian (Edmund Purdom) lands a starring role in a Hollywood movie (very similar to his real-life break in The Egyptian) and departs their shared shabbiness in a Rolls-Royce. In the meantime Chick enjoys himself at the expense of former flame Judy (Billy Whitelaw) but quickly abandons her for new squeeze Fay (Angela Douglas). His old friend Jack (Alan Dobie) has been forced to give up the business by his pregnant wife, but hangs himself when he cannot find a job to support his growing family. When his tearful widow Sandy tells Chick that an offer of an acting part has just arrived in the post, he selfishly rushes to the office of slimy agent Tommy (Dennis Price) to claim it for himself. What results is a dilemma. Chick gets the offer of a TV commercial for a breath freshener. He does it just for the money but, it is a raging success and he lands a contract for 26 more! He achieves his fame, and fortune, but is still unhappy. He knows he has compromised his supposed principles. At a celebratory party he observes everyone taking advantage or being taken advantage of, including Fay; and he just walks out in disgust.
This film inevitably draws comparisons with The Entertainer. With the main character always having excessive self-belief beyond their talent and capabilities. The main difference is that Chick does succeed where Archie Rice doesn't. Another similarity is that both films have casts which include,if not acting royalty, certainly acting aristocracy. We see Cecil Parker, Norman Rossington, Edwin Richfield, Eileen Way, Frank Finlay and Derek Newark in addition to those already mentioned, and they undoubtedly bring authenticity to their roles. Not a great film, but a chance to see Kenneth More in an unfamiliar role. -
writers_reign23 October 2019Made after the first flush of Moore's early success, which began in the early fifties for the thick end of a decade, this was shot when he could barely get arrested so that parallels with Chick Byrd and Kenneth Moore are not too hard to find. This is Moore flaunting his 'serious' acting chops and is suffused with melancholy whilst boasting a half-decent supporting cast. Overall it is neither fish nor fowl and perhaps the adjective that best fits is 'interesting'.
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drednm19 August 2019A surprisingly good comedy/drama about a group of British actors on the periphery is THE COMEDY MAN, which stars Kenneth More as a down-and-out actor who finally finds success, but in a series of TV commercials about breath mints. The various members of the group experience all sorts of ups and downs and live in a shared, squalid flat. They chase all over London looking for work but fall prey to the indifference of producers. An oily agent (Dennis Price) lords overs them and plays favorites as he bestows various small jobs. One actor (Edmund Purdom) lands a small film role that that launches him to major screen success ... much to the bitter envy of the others. It's a great look at the small lives of actors who have the fire to perform but never really make the grade.
Billie Whitelaw is good as an actress working as a waitress. Cecil Parker nearly steals the film as the old gent whose best days are long gone but he still clings to the hope of one last great role ... while he sponges off the younger actors. Frank Finlay, Alan Dobie, and Angela Douglas also appear.
Kenneth More is excellent as the 40-ish actor who can never quite make anything of the small chances he gets. More seems pretty much forgotten today but ranked as a major Brit movie star in the 1950s. He's excellent here.
The ending is quite good. -
richard_evans3622 November 2004I saw this film some years ago before Kenneth Moore sadly passed away. Unfortunately he could not do the story justice as the film, due mainly to time I believe, did not portray the character of Nathaniel (Chick) Bird, accurately. It was not able to relay the relationships between Chick and Prout nor with the Twins let alone with the hospital where he worked as a hospital porter before he took on a staring role. Nor did the film show how he created a character and gave the producers of a new film a 'Type' as they called him. Nor did it really display how he and his friend Julian who did go to Hollywood, had been. Nor how he eventually settled with his Stardom and fame and his ever growing love for the woman who changed his life. The book by Douglas Hayes, which sadly is no longer in print. But it is a story that should be re-created in a much more in-depth film that depicts a character which sadly the late Kenneth Moore should never have played.